Shinji's Redemption
Chapter 12
Shinji sat at the kitchen table. His eyes stared at his miso soup. His eyes were completely still staring at his Misao soup.
"Shinji?" Asuka said, worried as to why Shinji was just staring at his soup. Shinji looked up, it looked like he just woke up from a dream.
"What's wrong?" Misato asked. Shinji blinked slowly, for the past few weeks he couldn't get any sleep. After what happened with the twelfth angel, Shinji couldn't stop thinking about Unit 01. Everything made sense now. The voice, his abnormally high synch rates, everything, it all added up. Shinji glanced at Asuka. He wanted to tell her, he really did, but he couldn't. Who knows what could happen if he did?
"Just my headache," Shinji lied. In truth, his head did hurt, but not as much as the last time Unit 01 went Berserk.
Today was Saturday, For once they didn't have to do any synch training or go to Nerv. The doorbell rang throughout the apartment. Shinji got up to answer. When he opened the door he found Toji and Kensuke standing before him. Both of them wore eager smiles.
"Heya Shinji, mind if we come in?" Toji said. Shinji invited them in.
"What are you two doing here?" Asuka growled. Toji sneered.
"Don't worry she-devil, we won't be here for long," Toji said. Asuka looked confused. The two boys faced Misato and bowed.
"Miss Misato, ma'am, we would like to take Shinji out with us." The two said in unison. Misato nodded.
"Be safe you three," Misato told them.
The three of them rode into Tokyo-3. The train was very packed. The train was always crowded, but today was especially crowded.
"Where are we going?" Shinji asked.
"You'll see," Toji said with a smile. The train rode to the outskirts of Tokyo-3. She could see some scaffolding. It took him a while to realize that what he was seeing was a roller coaster. Other rides started to stick out, like a giant hammer that rose to be a hundred meters in the sky.
"We're going to an amusement park?" Shinji said. Kensuke pulled out a flyer.
"Not just any amusement park! It's the best one in all of Japan!" Kensuke eagerly said. "They just got a new ride! It's called the adrenaline rush!" He said excitedly.
'That must explain why it's so crowded.' Shinji thought.
The three of them squeezed threw the crowd to get in line for the amusement park. When they bought their tickets and walked in, Shinji could hear all sorts of sounds from the bustling atmosphere, anything from quiet small talk to the screeches of people on the rides. The first thing Toji wanted to do was to get on the adrenaline rush, seeing as the line was at least a 1-hour wait, they decided to go on the other rides. They decided to start out on the smaller rides first and then work their way up. They went on things like bumper cars and went to the arcade. Eventually, the line for the adrenaline rush shortened. The boys got into line. Shinji looked up at the ride. It was a very intimidating looking roller coaster.
'This must be the one I saw from Tokyo-3,' Shinji thought to himself. Kensuke looked at Shinji.
"You look nervous," Kensuke said in a teasing tone. Shinji nervously smiled, confirming Kensuke's suspicions. To be honest, Shinji was nervous. The only time he's ever been on a roller coaster was when he was eight, he remembers not being able to walk straight after that ride. The one he went on was one of those smaller ones that little kids could handle. The one in front of him was anything but little. Judging from how the tracks were laid out, Shinji would be going upside down and twisting all around.
"C'mon it won't be that bad," Toji said. It was finally their turn to get on. Shinji strapped himself into the seat. Kensuke and Toji sat either side of him, both held smiles in anticipation. The large handlebars locked in place Securing the passengers.
"Remember to keep all hands and feet inside the cart at all times, have a nice ride." The operator said. The cart slowly started moving forward and crawled up the hill. Shinji was forced to look up at the sky, it was a relatively clear day with only a few clouds out. The sky held a bright orange, meaning the sun was setting. Shinji looked to his left and saw the Sun bathe Tokyo-3 in a beautiful shine. Shinji was taken out of his trance by the cart suddenly fall forward. Shinji closed his eyes in anticipation, only for nothing to come. He opened his eyes to find the cart speeding down the tracks, but he didn't feel much different. He looked around, Toji and Kensuke looked like they were about to die. Shinji was confused by how familiar this felt, then it hit him. Shinji was the pilot of Unit 01, the Evas easily reached higher G's than this ride could ever hope for. Shinji smiled and enjoyed the ride.
When the ride stopped back at the boarding station, everybody got out. Most of the people on the ride looked like their souls left their bodies. As they were exiting, Kensuke felt a twist in his stomach. He ran over to the nearest trash can and emptied whatever he had for lunch. Toji could barely walk straight, he came to a bench and laid down on it.
"Why is everything still... spinning?" Toji asked. Shinji just stood beside the bench and chuckled at the two. Kensuke walked over slowly, holding his stomach. He looked at Shinji who looked completely unfazed.
"Did we go on the same ride?" He asked in a sickening tone. Shinji just smiled and softly laughed.
Shinji Ikari stood before Unit 01. He just stood before it and starred at it. Every time he thought about Unit 01 Shinji would just stop and think about it. How was he supposed to pilot it knowing that Unit 01 has the soul of his deceased mother inside of it? Ritsuko told asked him if everything was okay. He just nodded and reluctantly entered the entry plug.
"Why isn't he getting inside his entry plug?" Misato asked. Ritsuko looked down at the monitor and sighed.
"Ever since the twelfth angel, he's been acting strangely towards Unit 01. But we've checked for contamination, so it must have something to do with his mental state." Ritsuko said. Misato looked worried.
"Mental state? His he okay?" Misato asked. Ritsuko sighed.
"According to the reports, every time Unit 01 goes berserk, it's because of his stress levels, causing a spike in synch rate. It puts an enormous amount of strain on his brain. While this may not affect his physical health, his mental health may be at risk." Ritsuko explained.
"He doesn't seem all that different," Misato said.
"The only short term effects are headaches and drowsiness. It's the long term effects that we're worried about." Ritsuko clarified.
"How severe can these effects be?" Misato asked.
"Unit 01 has gone berserk on three accounts, combine that with the fact that Shinji is still growing, who knows?" Ritsuko said. Misato frowned.
"Is this really the only way to defeat the angels? To sacrifice the minds of children?" Misato asked with dispair. Ritsuko took off her glasses and put down her clipboard.
"The price of survival is high, that's the harsh reality we live in," Ritsuko said.
"Toji Suzuhara to the main office, please. Toji Suzuhara to the main office." The principle said through the school's inter comm. Toji looked confused.
"What did you do now?" Kensuke asked. Toji shrugged.
"Nothing recently," Toji said as he got up and headed for the principles office.
Toji knocked on the door. The door opened with the school's principal, Mr. Shina. Toji bowed and was welcomed in. When he walked in he was met with a blond woman with small glasses. She wore a blue blouse with a jet black skirt and maroon pantyhose. Her face held a small, but enjoyable smile. Next to her stood a man. He stood straight up and attentive. His glasses reflected the light from the ceiling, blocking out his eyes from Toji's view. He wore a black suit with a red under sweater. His dark brown hair lay flat on his head and his beard looked unkempt, but still organized. His face was like a rock. The only sign of life was the man's subtle breathing.
"Toji, come in. This is Dr. Ritsuko Akagi and Commander Gendo Ikari." Mr. Shina greeted.
'Gendo Ikari? That's who Shinji's father is?' Toji thought to himself. Ritsuko stuck her hand out, waiting for Toji to shake it. He met his hands with hers and gave it a shake.
"It's nice to finally meet you, Toji," Ritsuko said. Toji couldn' help but feel that the Ritsuko wasn't being genuine. There was something about the way she talked to him. Toji reached out his hand for the commander to shake. There was a brief silence as he looked deep into the soul of Toji. He slowly lifted his hand and shook Toji's.
'Why is he wearing gloves?' Toji thought to himself.
"Now to discuss why you are here, today," Ritsuko said. She looked over to the principle. "If you don't mind, this is very sensitive information. For security reasons, I'll have to ask you to leave." Ritsuko politely requested. Mr. Shina seemed to get the message and walked out of the office, closing the door behind him. "Now let's get to brass tacks." Ritsuko started. They all sat down at the table. Toji sat across from the commander and Ritsuko. "I and the commander here are part of Nerv, a branch of the UN," Ritsuko said.
"You're the people who work with Shinji?" Toji asked. Ritsuko nodded her head.
"Nerv's job as an organization is to protect the earth from alien creatures known as angels," Ritsuko explained. Toji sneered.
"Oh, those things?" Toji said, with venom. Ritsuko opened up a folder and flipped through some papers.
"According to our records, When the fourth angel attacked, you and your fellow classmate Kensuke Aida where caught up in the battle between it and Unit 01," Ritsuko said. Toji remembered that. It was the same day that he beat Shinji up, something he never really forgave himself for. It wasn't Shinji's fault that his sister died in the battle, but he blamed Shinji nonetheless. In fact, if Shinji hadn't fought that angel, he wouldn't even bee her today. The real enemy was the angels.
"What's all this leading up to?" Toji asked. Ritsuko flipped through more papers and pulled out a packet, she handed it to Toji. The front page read "Unit 03 Agreement." Toji was confused. "What's this?" he asked.
"Nerv's second branch in Nevada was in charge of developing Units 03 and 04. During testing, an incident with Unit 04 caused it to self destruct. In response to this, Nerv's second branch sent us Unit 03." Ritsuko explained.
"Okay, what does that have to do with me?" He asked, starting to get impatient with all this explaining.
"Unit 03 was sent without a pilot. Not just anyone can pilot these, there are specific requirements in order to pilot the Units. You fill those requirements." Ritsuko explained. Toji jumped from his seat.
"You want me to pilot that thing?!" Toji yelled. Ritsuko sighed.
"It's your choice to make, if you don't want to, you don't have to," Ritsuko stated. Toji just turned around and headed for the door.
"You can forget it! I'm not fighting your battles!" Toji yelled. He was about to open the door when Gendo spoke up.
"I'm surprised you're not interested, considering what happened with your sister," Gendo spoke. Toji turned around. He almost forgot the commander was there, up to this point he never spoke a word. He was starting to wonder why he even was here.
"How the hell do you know about that?" Toji sneered. Gendo ignored his question.
"If you sign this agreement, I can promise you that you will have a chance to fight an angel," Gendo said. Toji slowly walked back to the table. He picked up the packet and opened it, on one of the pages was a blueprint of Unit 03. It wasn't anything special, but it made Toji think about his conversation with Shinji. When he first came to his apartment he said that it should have been him piloting the Eva. This was his chance to get back to the angels. Toji stood there looking through the packet.
"Don't feel rushed to make a decision. Unit 03 isn't even here in Tokyo-03 yet, take your time." Ritsuko said. She handed him a folder with all the info he needed. Toji looked up and sighed. He turned around and headed out of the door. After Toji left Ritsuko let out a loud sigh. "You think I laid it on a bit too thick?" Ritsuko asked. Gendo just kept silent.
"What's keeping Toji?" Kensuke asked. The two stood at the ceiling of the school.
"Who knows?" Shinji answered. If anybody knew what was going on it was Shinji. The past few days he's been in and out of school. How could he focus on school when the life of one of his best friends is in danger. What kills Shinji the most is he can't do anything about it. All he can do is wait for the right time to save him. If he acts too early, then who knows what will happen?
The teacher lectured about the reconstruction of society after the second impact. As always Shinji was off in his own little world. Asuka looked over at Shinji.
'He's been off recently, I wonder what's up with him?' Asuka thought to herself. The sound of the sliding door opening echoed throughout the classroom. Toji walked through.
"Sorry, I'm late." He apologized. The teacher told him to have a seat. Asuka looked at Toji. His usual relaxed, laid back expression was replaced with one of anxiousness and worry. She looked over at Shinji, who just turned back forward and sighed.
'What's going on with those two?' Asuka asked herself.
Shinji sat in his room drawing more landscapes. All he could think about was how Unit 01 destroyed Unit 03 when the dummy plug system took over. He remembers being so powerless. He was forced to watch Unit 01 savagely dismantle Unit 03. All Shinji wanted to do was to protect the kid inside the Eva. When Unit 01 crushed the entry plug, Shinji felt that it was his fault for what had happened, and then to see that the kid who was piloting Unit 03 was his best friend...well it pissed him off. Shinji remembers how he felt after that, The pure anger he had for his father sent him over the edge. He swore that he would never pilot an Eva again, only for him to go back and kill the fourteenth angel. For his brave actions, he had the reward of being absorbed by Unit 01, just like his mother was. Part of him wished he just stayed there, at least he would be safe from the world's many harsh realities. The tip of the pencil broke causing a large streak to go across one of the mountains, ruining the picture. Shinji crumbled the paper into a ball and threw it at the wall. Shinji sighed and stood up. Shinji looked up and his painting. A picture of unit 03 flashed inside his head, causing him to pull on his hair. After his episode ended, Shinji looked outside the window. Judging from where the sun was it was going to be sunset soon. If he was going to do it, it's now or never. He grabbed his jacket and walked out of his room.
Shinji looked all around the school for Toji. He lost gave up when he heard the sound coming from outside in the courtyard. Shinji walked out of the gym doors to see Toji practicing his free throws. He noticed that his face looked hollower than normal. Toji picked up the basketball and line up his arms for the shot. Toji jumped up and released the ball into the air. It flew in a perfect arch, The ball hit the backboard and fell in the hoop. The ball bounced towards Shinji. Toji walked over to come to pick the ball back up until he stopped to see Shinji.
"Hey, Toji," Shinji said. Toji looked up and smiled, but it wasn't a happy one.
"What are you doing here?" Toji asked. Shinji just frowned.
"I think you already know why," Shinji said. Toji's smile immediately faded and was replaced with a frown.
"How'd you find out?" Toji asked. Toji picked the ball back up and started practicing again.
"It doesn't matter how I found out," Shinji said. Toji made another throw, this time it sunk straight in with a swish.
"If you came here to change my mind, I've already made my decision," Toji said. Shinji could feel his face crumpled up in preparation to what Toji was about to say. "Shinji, I'm piloting Unit 03," Toji said. Shinji tightened his fist.
"Why?" Shinji said, anger echoing in his words. Toji's gritted his teeth.
"You know damn well why!" Toji yelled. There was a loud silence in the air.
"Toji I'm begging you, don't do this." Shinji started to shake. Toji shook his head.
"I have to do this, Shinji," Toji said.
"No, you don't!" Shinji yelled. Shinji looked down. Everything was starting to come out. "Piloting Unit 01 was the biggest mistake of my life!" Shinji yelled.
"Then why are you still piloting it?" Toji screamed.
"Because I have to! If I don't everyone I know and love will die!" Shinji yelled, his throat burning from all the yelling he has done.
"Then that's all the more reason why I should! I already lost the people I love!" Toji yelled. Shinji started to feel tears well up in his eyes.
"Toji, I'm telling you this as an Eva pilot, not your friend," Shinji said, his voice barely audible. Toji sneered.
"What do you know?" He asked with disgust in his voice. Shinji could feel the tears roll down his cheeks.
"All too much," Shinji said. Toji looked down in shame. He walked over to the exit of the gym. He walked passed Shinji and stopped.
"Shinji, When that angel killed my sister in that battle, I blamed you. I shouldn't have done that, If anything I should have blamed myself." Toji said. He looked down at the ground. "It should have been me in that fucking robot, but it wasn't. That's why I have to do this Shinji," Toji said. He sighed heavily. "I'm sorry," Toji said as he walked away.
"Entry Plug locked in and ready for activation," One of the crewmen said.
"Activate the Eva," Ritsuko ordered. Misato looked at Unit 03 and gritted her teeth.
"Why does it have to be him?" She asked Ritsuko.
"He was the best option," Ritsuko replied. Misato sighed. She never did tell Shinji who the pilot was.
"All values normal, initiating the first connection," another crewman said.
"Roger, move into the second connection," Ritsuko ordered. A loud beeping sound went off.
"Signs of unidentified life decided inside the Eva! The pattern is blue, it's an Angel!" The crewmen said.
"What!" Ritsuko shouted. Unit 03's eyes glowed red with fury. It broke through the restraints like wet paper. It stood up and roared loud enough for the whole test area to shake.
"Sir we've lost connection with the test area 07! Unit 03 is registering as an...Angel?" Maya shouted. Gendo sat emotionless.
"Try to get the connection back. As for Unit 03, have the other Units track it down and neutralize it." Gendo ordered.
"Unit 03 is what?" Asuka stammered, inside her Eva.
"Unit 03 is registered as an Angel, our orders are to destroy it at all cost." Rei apathetically said.
"With the pilot still in it?" Asuka yelled. Just then a loud stomping could be heard. Just over the horizon, Unit 03 slowly walked forward. It's navy blue exterior contrasted next to against the harsh tones of the setting sun. "I'm going in," Asuka reported. She looked back to see that Unit 01 had disappeared. She looked around only to be pushed down and pinned to the ground by Unit 03. Asuka pushed on the controls of the Eva, but it was no use. She could feel Unit 03 try to pry the entry plug from out of Unit 02.
"Dammit!" Asuka shouted as the entry plug ejected out of Unit 02. Being satisfied, Unit 03 continued its path.
"Unit 02's entry plug has been ejected!" Maya reported. Gendo pushed up his glasses.
"Rei, keep the target distracted while Unit 01 advances," Gendo ordered. Rei stood ready with her positron rifle ready to fire. Unit 03 slowly walked past Rei and Unit 00. She aimed the rifle and was about to fire until the arm of Unit 03 stretched and grabbed the face of Unit 00. Rei instinctively grabbed her head. It felt like her skull was being crushed inside a vice grip. Unit 03 used is raw strength to crush the head of Unit 00. Blood exploded from the hands of Unit 03 and blood of Unit 00 trickled down the side of its arm. Rei let out an ear-piercing screech.
"We lost signal to Unit 00!" Maya reported.
"Where's Unit 01?" Gendo asked, a hint of frustration in his voice. Shinji sat inside the entry plug of Unit 01.
"Don't panic. Don't panic. Don't panic. Don't panic. Don't panic," Shinji said over and over again to himself. Shinji felt a rumble. He looked up to see Unit 03 slowly make its way towards him. "Toji…" Shinji said. Without thinking, Unit 01 ran forward at full speed. Unit 03 roared and stretch its arm towards Unit 01. Barely missing Unit 01 jumped and tackled Unit 03 to the ground. Unit 01 pinned the angel down and tried to get its entry plug out. Unit 03 grabbed the side of Unit 01 and began to crush its ribs. Shinji could feel his lungs slowly starting to be pierced by his ribs, but he continued on with trying to pull out the entry plug. No matter how hard he tried, Shinji couldn't get the entry plug out. With all his might Shinji grabbed the back of Unit 03's neck and ripped out the entry plug. Unit 03 roared in pain as its blood oozed from the back of its neck. Shinji sat on the back of Unit 03, exhausted. Blood trickled down the right arm of Unit 01, with the entry plug safely in its hands. "I did it," Shinji said to himself. Just then a second pair of arms sprouted from Unit 03's side and grabbed the arm of Unit 01. Unit 03 twisted the arm of Unit 01 until it snapped out of place, causing it to drop the entry plug. Shinji screamed in pain as Unit 03 picked Unit 01 off it's back and threw Unit 01 into a nearby mountain. Unit 03 slowly stood up and walked over to the entry plug. Shinji looked up to see Unit 03 approach the Entry plug. "What are you…" Shinji said. Unit 03 lifted its foot. Shinji's eyes widened and Unit 01 reached out with its good arm. "Toji!" Shinji screamed. Unit 03's foot slammed down onto the entry plug, LCL exploded from the bottom of Unit 03's foot. Orange liquid trickled off Unit 03's foot as it lifted it up. Shinji felt his arm relocate itself back into place. Unit 01 ran forward and picked Unit 03 by its neck. Shinji's vision was blurry and was clouded in a red hue. All he knew was that he needed to kill...no massacre Unit 03. Unit 01 slowly squeezed Unit 03's neck, blood started oozing from Unit 03's mouth. A loud snap could be heard, the angel roared with blood gurgling out of its mouth. The Eva then fell limp.
"Unit 03...I mean the angel has ceased operation," Maya reported. Everyone in the main bridge could only watch as Unit 01 held the dead corpse of Unit 03. That wasn't enough for Shinji. Unit 01 kept squeezing until unit 03's head popped off its body and fell to the ground. Blood sprayed out of the neck of Unit 03. The Eva slammed Unit 03 into the ground and started ripping it apart, limb by limb, organ by organ. Blood spraying and splattering all over nearby buildings. The sounds of intestines and bones being torn apart echoed throughout the empty air.
"Has it gone Berserk?" Fuyutsuki asked, in total shock of what he was seeing. Maya looked away from the screen and couldn't answer.
"No, that's all Shinji," replied Aoba. Unit 01 wasn't done yet. It picked up the severed head of Unit 03 and placed it between both of its hands and started to crush it. Unit 03 eyes popped out of its head as it was completely crushed. Chunks of Unit 03's brain splattered across Unit 01. Blood poured down from the hands of Unit 01. Some of the crew members stood shocked at what they were seeing, some simply vomited at the gruesome sight.
"What have we done to this boy?" Fuyutsuki whispered.